My Disney Mania

ZapperZ's and Philaduckia's Blog on everything Disney. We are Disney Vacation Club members, Walt Disney World Annual Passholders, and Disney Pin collector. All of them make for a very lethal combination! :)

Sunday, February 18, 2018

This Orlando Sentinel article highlights the popularity of "Flight of Passage" at Disney's Animal Kingdom, and the fact that the wait times have not diminished, reaching to more than 6 hours recently.

Visitors who did not have FastPasses waited in stand-by lines an
average of about 2 hours and 15 minutes in June, according to Testa’s
numbers. He bases those on a rolling average, which helps eliminate
outliers, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the busiest time of day, he said.

Through
Touring Plans, Testa’s 140,000 paying subscribers (plus half a million
who use his website for free) feed him data. He’s collected 20 million
data points to guide his analysis, he said.

Fast forward to Dec.
16, a Saturday, about 6 p.m., the wait time hit 6½ hours — the highest
Testa has ever recorded, beating the previous 305-minute wait for
Soarin’ Over California at Epcot.

Yowzah!

We managed to go on "Flight of Passage" twice during our last trip in Dec. 2017. It is certainly a spectacular attraction. But is it worth a wait that long? It appears that many people standing in line for hours seem to think so.

Monday, February 12, 2018

More news out of D23 Expo Japan. New details on the attraction replacing The Great Movie Ride at DHS has been released.

"On the attraction, the fun begins when you see the premiere of a new
cartoon short with Mickey and Minnie getting ready for a picnic," Disney said.
"As they head out, they drive alongside a train and find out that the
engineer is Goofy. Then, one magical moment lets you step into the movie
and on Goofy's train for a wacky, wild ride."

This is interesting because it will be the first ride at WDW that features Mickey and Minnie (not counting Philharmagic, which is a show and not a ride).

Let's hope it is not another lame attraction such as the Na'vi River ride at Pandora.

The big news that came out of the D23 Expo in Japan is that the "Guardians of the Galaxy" roller coaster ride at Epcot will be one of the largest indoor coasters in the world.

With the “Guardians of the Galaxy”-inspired coaster, we’re going big.
This one-of-a-kind family attraction will be one of the world’s longest
enclosed roller coasters when it’s added to Future World at Epcot. It’ll
feature a unique story currently being created by Walt Disney
Imagineering and include a new innovative ride system that’s guaranteed
to “wow” guests.

Thursday, February 01, 2018

OK, so this is rather late to show something that is more appropriate for the holiday season, but hey, I've been busy!

We bought these at CVS, of all places, in Nov. 2017. At first we didn't want them because we need more singing Mickey and Minnie plushes like we need a hole in the head. But when I played and put it on the floor, we just had to get them because they actually dance and move across the floor! They were too adorable to pass up.

So, this may be late, but here they are, Mickey and Minnie, dancing and singing "Deck The Halls".

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Disney Animation unit has scheduled a "Day of Listening" tomorrow, Feb. 1, 2018, to discuss, among other things, the issue of John Lasseter and if he will be welcomed back.

The gathering, which Disney veterans say is unprecedented for the
Burbank-based animation unit, comes as sources with ties to both Disney
Animation and Pixar Animation Studios speculate that John Lasseter, who
oversees both companies but has been on leave since November, will not
return from what was characterized by Disney as a six-month
"sabbatical." At the time, Lasseter, 61, acknowledged "painful"
conversations and unspecified "missteps" in a memo to staff.

The loss of Lasseter will definitely be a major blow and a major transition for both Disney Animation and Pixar.

I wonder if they have removed, or will remove, all those bottles of wines from the two Remy restaurants on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy ships.

Monday, January 29, 2018

How many big Disney fans have ever visited the ESPN Wide World of Sports at WDW? I have, but only a couple of times, and for both times, it had nothing to do with sports (both were related to pins).

So while I know about the facility, I don't know much about it since I don't have much of a reason to go there when I'm on vacation at WDW. Still, for those who are curious on why Disney would have such a facility, this article will enlighten you on why it is such an important part of Walt Disney World. I, for one, didn't know that the Cheerleading thing is that big and how the World of Sports is the major venue for the event.

No wonder I kept bumping into cheerleading squads every now and then when I'm going to WDW.

Friday, January 26, 2018

I don't get to read much about the Disney's Flavor Lab at WDW. So it was quite informative to read this article on what it is and what it does.

Flavor Lab is a 7,500-square-foot complex tucked away in the
backstage parts of Disney's Florida property, off limits to the
countless tourists who will eat the dishes dreamed up within its walls.
In this building, the company’s chefs and Imagineers have access to a
one-stop workshop to build immersive dining experiences, create detailed
mythologies that lend story to restaurant locations and menu items, try
out new technologies, make sure ideas are practical on a Disney-size
scale, and test everything down to the individual appetizer. The goal:
Create restaurants where a meal is as much a part of a theme park
vacation as a ride on the Haunted Mansion.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

I just found this (thanks, Chuck!) Le Creuset Disney collection. Le Creuset is never cheap (I have several dutch ovens and a few other ceramic items). Pair it with Disney, and it becomes downright expensive.

Friday, December 15, 2017

On this trip (which we are still on for at least another couple of days), we used the mobile food ordering service that is inside the My Disney Experience App. This feature allows you to preorder and pay for food at various counter services at the 4 theme parks, and one in DS. Supposedly, it will expand even more as they add more counter service.

The take home review of this feature is: IT IS FREAKING AWESOME!

Say you want to order food from Flame Tree BBQ. You tap on "Order Food" section in the App. It will then list all the quick service restaurants that are able to prepare your order. Under Animal Kingdom theme park, you'll find Flame Tree BBQ. Tap on that, and you will be shown the menu that are available for mobile app ordering (for Flame Tree, it is identical to the one you get standing in line at the counter. For Sunshine Season, there are items that are not listed in the current menu list for that establishment).

You then pick the item you want, ADD to your selection, and add as many as you want. Also note that you may have the ability to customize, as in the type of side dishes if the item comes with it. So you may want to keep the default fries, or maybe change it to a fruit cup.

You also may add drinks, desserts, side dishes, etc., anything that is on the listed menu.

Then, once you are done with your selection, you place your order. This is where it will be processed to be paid. Then you will be presented with a button that said "I"m here, process my order now", or something to that effect. It is only THEN will they start preparing your order. Once your order is ready, the app will refresh that page and will tell you that your order is ready to be picked up.

Picking up the order is simple. You either give the name of the person who ordered it, or the order number that is displayed on your app. At each counter service that accept mobile order, there is a location denoted by a sign on where you should go to pick it up.

Having used it MANY times on this trip, this is one of the most convenient feature that we have come across with. It saves time standing in line, or the aggravation of standing behind a group of people who seem to only start to figure out what they want when they get to the cashier. Many times, we often start the order even before we got to the place we want to eat. When we get there, I would indicate that they should start the order while we look for a place to sit. Often times, it takes less than 5 minutes before we get the notice that our order is ready.

From what I can see, there are still not many guests who are making use of this feature, so the efficiency of this service may change as more and more people use it. But as of now, I can't think of any sane reason for anyone not to use this. Unless of course, you enjoy standing in long lines that crawl.